Vulture TV
There are many TV Stations that operate Shows that Dramatize and Publicize the Conflicts that result from Engagements on the Highway, stations such as KTLD Albuquerque, LA23, VTV, and a Host of others around the US and even the rest of the World. Vultures Blah Kudos Kudos is a measure of how Famous (or Infamous) the Character has become on Vulture TV Stations, and affect their ability to recruit new Gang or Cult Members (Ops Teams do not spend Kudos to Recruit), it also affects their ability to gain new equipment, get more income from their Territory, and Media Visibility. After each Engagement a Character consults the Chart to the right to determine how much (if Any) Kudos they have gained or lost as a result of their actions in the battle. During the Downtime Phase the Character can Spend Kudos on a number of things as listed below. Recruitment Increasing Fame or Infamy for Gangs and Cults can be used to Recruit new members into the Force, while Ops Agencies have plenty of people trying to join them and need no Kudos expenditures to recruit a new member. The Character can Spend 1 Kudos to recruit a new member into the Gang or Cult, this new Member comes as a Starting Character and can be a Human, Mutant, or Robot depending on what sort of Force you are playing, Forces in the PZ can only Recruit Humans and Robots in this manner, while Forces with Mutagenic Source's can only Recruit Mutants and Robots. Discounts Fame (Infamy) can have its benefits when you try to get new equipment, this allows a Character to use their notoriety to get Discounts and Freebees from Corporations and Black Market Dealers. The Character can spend Kudos to reduce the cost of any piece of Character or Vehicle Equipment, Weapons, or Upgrades each point of Kudos Spent in this way counts as $500 of the total value of the Item, in this way the Cost of an item can be reduced to $0. Income Famed Characters can push some of their fame into their Territory to increase the number of People visiting and living in the Territory and to get more funding from those who live there or even pass through in the form of Tolls, Donations, and Extortion. A Character can Spend Kudos to gain additional Funding from their Territory, each Point of Kudos spent increases the Population of the Territory and as a result affects the Income you can draw (See Territories). Media Visibility Notoriety can result in Vulture TV interviews, Fan Bases, Advertising Deals, Backhanders, and a variety of other things, these activities can net additional Cash, Recruits, and Equipment for the Characters Force, but there are hazards to such activities, not the least of which is increased Visibility to their Enemies, Stalkers, and Psychosis. The Character can Spend Kudos to increase Media interest in their antics on the Road, by spending 5 Kudos the character can roll on the Media Visibility Table below. Media Visibility Table When a Character decides to get something out of their rising fame they can spend Kudos to try and get some interest from the Vulture TV Stations, this can result in a number of effects depending on what is rolled. The Character spends 5 Kudos and rolls a D6 against the Chart to determine what sort of interest they gain from the Industry, if the Character is left with 0 Kudos as a result of the expenditure they subtract -1 from the roll, if they have 10 to 19 they add +1, 20 to 29 they add +2, 30 or more they add +3. No Interest Despite efforts to get onto the Media circuit the Character has been unsuccessful and fails to get any interest from the Vultures, this still results in the 5 Kudos being spent and counts as the Characters roll for that Campaign Turn. Interview The Character has been offered an Interview with a Vulture Station or Magazine that is offering them a Cash Sum for their time and of course additional Media Visibility. The Character rolls a D6, if the Characters Kudos is 0 they subtract -1, 1 to 9 they gain no bonus, 10 to 19 they add +1, 20 to 29 adds +2, and 30 or more adds +3. they then consult the Chart to determine how large the Interview exposure is and how much Cash and Kudos they gain from the Event. Local Magazine: The Character gets a small article in a local Magazine or News Paper, this results in some small media Exposure, but mainly provides a small sum of Cash to the Character for the Interview. National Magazine: A Large Magazine or News Paper publishes a Full Page article about the Character with pictures, this increases the Characters Notoriety in the PZ and they get paid for their time. Local News: A Local News Channel does a small on site interview with the Character and people in the region tune in to see the Character, this gives the Character some Kudos and a reasonable sum of Cash for their time. National News: The Character appears in an interview with a National News Broadcaster, this gives the Character a massive visibility boost, granting Kudos and Cash to the Character, in addition the Population of the Characters Territory increases by +1 as people move into the area for protection or just a chance to meet their hero. But the Characters exploits make them more noticed by their enemies granting a -1 to the Characters next Approach Roll. Major Network TV: The Character is a Guest on a major Talk Show, giving the Character a Chance to speak their mind to the nation, this causes them to Gain plenty of Kudos and Cash for their appearance, and the Character gains +2 Population for their Territory. The Characters Enemies are resolved to make life harder for the Character as a result of the Interview as a result the Character suffers -1 to their next Approach Roll. Advertizing Deal The Character lands a deal to advertise a product for some Company or other, while this gives the character some Kudos for their efforts it also offers the Character a regular income of Cash from the use of the Ad, this Income bonus is paid at the beginning of each Campaign Turn and lasts for some time, at the Beginning of each Turn roll a D6 and add +1 for each Turn the Ad has been aired for, if the result is a 12 or more then the Ad is pulled and the Income stops. Magazine Ad: The Character appears in a full page Ad in Magazines advertising some common product such as Toothpaste, Ammunition, Medication, etc. this nets a small amount of Kudos and a regular income as long as the Ad keeps being printed in Magazines. Not to mention a stack of free magazines. Billboard: Having your face on Billboards advertising some new Car or Weapon System grants the Character a sum of Kudos and a reasonable Income for as long as the Billboards keep getting put up, this does make the Characters Face more recognizable in the PZ and grants an additional $500 discount of their next purchase totaling $10,000 or more. Radio Ad: The Characters Voice and Name are used in a Radio Ad granting them some extra Kudos and a lucrative Income for the life of the Ad, this Ad does not make the Characters Face more recognizable so they do not get any benefits from such things. TV Ad: The Character appears in an add for some Company and even gets to show off a little, this nets a decent sum of Kudos and a sizable Income from the Ad as long as it keeps running on TV, this makes the Character much more recognizable and grants them a $1,000 discount on the next purchase totaling $5,000 or more. Backhander A Vulture TV Station offers the Character some Cash for their continued exploits on the Highway, this is of course Illegal but they want the Character to keep wowing audiences in the PZ, The Character rolls a D6, if they have 1 to 10 Kudos they add +1, 11 to 20 adds +2, 21 to 30 adds +3, and 30 or more adds +4. The Character gains $1,000 times the result in Cash immediately (A result of 7 nets $7,000), in addition the Character gains 1 Kudos for every whole 2 points on the roll (a 7 adds +3 Kudos), if the Character rolls a 6 (before modifiers) they gain double the normal cash bonus. Free Stuff The Character gets offered some free Equipment or Weapons from a single Manufacturer to Upgrade their Vehicle with, the amount of Freebees the Character receives is determined by rolling a D6, if the Characters Kudos is 1 to 10 add +1. 11 to 20 add +2, 21 to 30 add +3, 31 or more add +4, consult the Chart to the right to determine how much Cash worth of free goods the Character gains. If the Character buys any items from a Corporate Interest they may only use that Corporation in the Free Stuff (Insane Ivan gets $10,000 in free stuff and needs a new Arm, so he selects an Integrate Boutique product, as a result all his purchases must be standard equipment or Integrate Industries products), if any Cash is not spent from the Freebee total then it is lost, but the Character may top up the total to get additional equipment with the same restrictions. Fan Club The Characters exploits have resulted in the creation of a Fan Club (or its expansion if one already exists), Citizens and Settlers have formed a Club to follow the Characters Exploits and share their experiences and Thoughts on the Character. Each time a Character rolls a Fan Club result they add +1 to the Fan Clubs Rating (The first time gives a rating of 1), the Characters Fan Club spreads word of the Character and creates Fan-Fiction, Posters, Novella's, and even Conventions if the Club is large, at the beginning of each Contract Sequence roll a D6 and add the Fan Clubs rating (to a maximum of +5), consult the Chart to determine what the Fans have done for the Character. If the roll results in a 1 (before modifiers) then the Fan Clubs rating drops by -1, if the result is a 6 (before modifiers) then the Fan Club has grown by +1. Dissolved: Lack of interest in the Fan Club has resulted in its Disbanding, the Fans stop any organized following and return to normal, the Characters Fan Club rating is reduced to 0 and they stop rolling each Campaign Turn. Fanzine: Some of the Fans begin distributing a Fan Magazine, this contains stories of the Characters Exploits and plenty of Pictures, along with dates of any Fan Club activities or TV spots on the Character, the Character gains +1 Kudos as a result of the increased Media Visibility. Publication: One or more Fans Publishes a Book, Video, Collectable, or other such Merchandise of the Character and their Story, this grants the Character a small stipend of Cash each Campaign Turn adding +$100 to the Characters Income, this lasts until the Fan Club is Disbanded. Each time this result is rolled the Character increases their income Bonus by an additional +$100. Fundraiser: Fans get together to raise Cash for the Character to ensure they have the best chance on the Highway, the Character rolls a D6 and adds the Fan Clubs Rating, they receive a lump sum of money equal to $500 times the rolls result (a result of a 9 would net $4,500). Convention: Hundreds of Fans gather to hold a Convention and the Character is invited to appear, they Sign autographs and get their picture taken extensively, this results in the Characters fame growing granting them +2 Kudos, in addition the Character gains +1 Psychosis as a result of the Fame going to their head. Cult Formation: Some of the Fans have become fanatical and have formed a Cult to worship the Character, this causes the Fan Clubs rating to drop by -1, but creates D6 Plus the Fan Clubs Rating in Cultists that begin worshiping the Character. If the Character ignores or publicly derides the Worship then they leave the Fan Club and nothing further happens, if the Character indulges the Cult they generate a new Cult Force and ask the Character to become their spiritual leader, if the Character wishes they may leave their current Force if it is a Gang or Ops Team and become the leader of a new Cult Force with all the Cultists as members and their personal wealth in funds, if the Character is already in a Cult they may bring their Members into the Cult. Regardless of the result the Character gains +2 Psychosis and their remaining Fan Club continues as normal. If the Character creates a Cult and this roll come up again then the Fan Club shrinks by -1 and D6 new Cultists join the Characters Cult. Merchandising A Company approaches the Character to create some toys, clothes, bedding, cups, and a host of other products with the Characters likeness on them, this provides the Character with an Income from sales of the products and spreads awareness of the Character. Roll a D6, if the character has 1 to 10 Kudos they add +1, 11 to 20 adds +2, 21 to 30 adds +3 and 31 or more adds +4 to the roll, they then consult the Chart to determine what sort of Product visibility they gain. T-Shirts: The Printing of T-Shirts is the first step to fame for many and the Character is now among them, these Products hit the Shelves and as they are bought the character gains some small income each Campaign Turn, in addition the Character becomes more recognizable granting them some small Kudos increase. Toys: A Range of Toy Figures and Vehicles is released based on the Character, perhaps even a Board Game based on their lives, this grants a moderate income and increases the Characters profile in PZ Territories, they also get a Complete set themselves and can attend Opening Ceremonies. Household Products: Everyday Household products now have the Characters Seal of approval, generating a regular income and netting some Kudos, the Character is now a household name (even if only for their power to blast Limescale), the Character also gets a lump sum of Cash for their participation of $5,000 immediately. Vehicle System: A Company names a new Version of a Vehicle System after the Character, this product hits the market and provides a comfortable sum of Cash each Campaign Turn as well as a large Kudos boost from the Visibility. The Company also offer the Character the New System for their Vehicle allowing the Character to gain an Upgrade with a Value of $10,000 (The Player Chooses), any left over Cash is lost. Vehicle: The Characters Fame is so great that a Company names a New Road Vehicle after them and puts it on the market, this generates a large Income and instantly raises the Characters Kudos, in addition the Character is offered one of the new Vehicles with a value of $50,000 (The Player can design the Vehicle using the Vehicle Design Rules). See Also Character Design Territory Design Main Rules Index